This invention relates to a conveyor belt apparatus for delivering electrical or mechanical components to a marking device.
Electrical and mechanical components are presently marked by marking systems which utilize conveyor systems of various types to transfer the components to and from a marking device. A significant disadvantage of such systems is illustrated when the system is converted to accommodate a different type of component. Typically the conveyor system utilizes a component accomodating element such as a nest or carrier assembly mounted to a belt. The nest typically carries only one type of component and thus must be changed to correspond to a new component.
Changeover of nest elements is quite costly and time consuming. Either the conveyor belt must be taken apart to remove the old carrier element and replace it with a new one or the entire machine must be disassembled to remove the entire belt and replace it with a new one. Such changeover results in significant "down time" for the marking system. Further, frequent changeover of carrier elements and the rushing involved in the changeover may result in carrier components being lost or inadequately mounted to the belt resulting in system malfunction, breakdown and further delay.